A Sci-Fi Roleplay

[MrDrake]

Zoe's eyes widened with what Raiven had said, moving out of Whisper's arms and over to the screen "No! No! No! No! It's....it....it can't be!" she called out with teary eyes.

T-5.0 looked over to Zoe "You can blame that all on Heron" she told her "He did not allow the guardians to get out in time"

Zoe shook her head some more with tears in her eyes before she just turned and ran off again, running to her room for the time being, laying down face first onto her bed.

T-5.0 on the other hand gave off a sigh "Poor girl, I can understand where she is coming from, even if I am only a cyborg, I still can see what she's going through, caring much for Valria, only to now loose her"

[JitteryDragon]

Whisper shed a tear. 'Damn,' she said with sorrow in her vocie. 'And I was just getting to know her, too.' She looked back out the doorway where Zoe had ran back out. 'I guess it's my job as usual to keep an eye on her, though I'm not sure my company will be enough for this time. She's lost a mother, essentially.'

'So did you,' Raiven said, his voice burdened.

Whisper looked away from him. 'This isn't the same thing... I... I guess it might be. Oh, I don't know,' she said frustratedly. 'Can't we have some good luck just for once? For just one god damned time?'

With that, she turned and left the room.

Raiven sniffed, turning to the others. 'We still have a mission to complete. There will be enough time for grieving when we're done.'

He hoped the others could realize this. Raiven walked up to the console to contact Omega. 'Omega, any sign of that ion cannon Zarcon was in possession of? His death probably made it useless, but there's no knowing that until we know exactly what it does.'

Isodor just sat in a seat in silence, whimpering to himself. 'Oh, what a crappy day.'

It couldn't get any worse, he thought to himself.

Not shortly after, the communicator beeped. An incoming signal. 'Athos, this is sergeant Barbary of the space police force, do you read? I repeat, this is sergeant Barbary contacting the Athos.'

Raiven's head could have fallen right off. 'Barbary?!'

- - -

'Where the hell is our back-up?' Cried one of the soldiers to his comrade. Clad in a suit of dark blue, the defenders of the dwarf planet turned outpost Pluto were fighting a vicious fight against a Kre'Iax warship. They had been the first victim of the Kre'Iax, in their attempt to cut off communication with Earth... which had guaranteed a stealthy and precise attack on the humans home planet.

With that task a success, all that was left was to eradicate the pesky human pests that tried desperately to hold onto this tiny worthless rock. Massive beams of light struck the surface from a massive warship just above Pluto, sending chunks of rock and soldiers flying through the air.

The soldiers sergeant threw him another clip. 'There's no back-up, damn it. Keep shooting and pray to whatever god you worship!'

'Oh man, we're all going to die. I knew I shouldn't have applied for this position!' Cried another soldier, hiding behind a small piece of rocky cover as Kre'Iax approached the main base station.

'Deal with it soldier!' The sergeant was getting fed up with these men. Though they fought well, all they could think about was defeat... that was not the human way! They would fight these invaders to the death, and pray for the safety of Earth. 'We still have a chance, so long as we live... and I intend to-'

KA-POW! The sergeant was thrown into the air as a missile struck his possition. He fell to the ground, lifeless.

'Sergeant!' Cried one of the soldier, running to his side as he dodged incoming laser shots.

'He's dead!' The cowering soldier shouted. 'We might as well surrender, we have no hope now.'

The other soldier closed the eyes of his fallen sergeant, and closed his eyes too. They needed a miracle if they were to all survive.

And then he opened his eyes, and saw it...

It was like a massive space station, beyond anything in this world... a collection of spires and platforms and architecture that shaped it like a small planet. A horrifying sight, a massive spiked machine that flew through space, and yet seemed so close to them.

Several smaller vessels flew all around it in a formation. By small, these ships would have been individually fifty times the size of the biggest battleships in the known galaxy.

...And there were hundreds of them. One of these behemoths... shaped like a long battle-cruisers with a Gothic design, and what seemed to be some sort of temple as its bridge... struck the Kre'Iax vessel like it was a small bug hitting a windscreen. The Kre'Iax warship slid across the side in several broken pieces, many of which struck Pluto shortly after like meteorites.

'Holy sh--' the soldier said to himself as the gathering passed them.

The Kre'Iax fighters on the ground had seen it, too... and took it as a bad omen, for they began to retreat. The soldier gestured to the other men. 'Now is our chance to strike back!'

The others were weary and reluctant, but still this one man continued. 'The enemy run for their lives, are we not men as to strike under the miracle of god himself?'

Some of the men cheered. 'Let us take back this barren soil, for mother Earth!'

'For mother Earth!'

- - -

'Hmm, I wonder what that was,' a tall, cloaked figure said to another as he sat in a large throne like chair.

'Probably just another asteroid, my lord,' a small hunched rat like creature said, also clad in robes in a similar matter to a priest. He carried a short staff with a double barred cross upon its tip.

The chair in which the cloaked figure sat rotated around a massive glowing orb, connected to an axis that allowed him full rotation around the crystal. 'A warship, I believe. How petty, our Overlord would be most displeased if one of the Behemoths were to be damaged by a piece of scrap metal.

'Shall I contact one of the other Behemoths to inspect ours?'

'No, it will not be necessary, Saint Tirinius. I will speak with her myself.'

'As you wish, my lord.' The rat creature bowed, and left the massive spherical room.

The cloaked figure focused into his crystal. 'Mother Suffering, are you well?'

'Of course, my lord,' replied the vessels spirit, a echoed female voice that sounded cold and hollow. 'I have fought through asteroid storms, battled against thunderous nebulae, and survived the civil war... a small piece of scrap is of no worry to me.'

'Very good then.' The figure leaned back in his seat and rotated a little.

'You need not worry, Lord Kain,' the female voice said gently, yet still in a hollow voice. 'I am quite fine.'

The figure in the chair simply nodded.

'Is all well, Lord Kain?' Mother Suffering asked.

The figure nodded slowly. 'All is well, Mother. It is only that... well... I have not been in the Sol system for a long time...'

'Indeed, Kain. It had been so long since I was first gifted to you as a child, to serve as my captain... and I as your eternal vessel... and you gone far, Lord.'

Kain nodded solemnly. 'Nearly two thousand years since I was taken from Earth,' he replied, gazing through the crystal as if it were far in the distance. 'It has changed much since I was last here, it seems. Sad that it still seems to toil with war, pain and suffering... but such is the human way.'

'You need not worry yourself, Lord Kain. We have merely come here to collect what we left behind all those years ago, and then we shall be gone.'

The figure nodded, removing his hood to reveal a pale horrid skinned human face, with gleaming red eyes that stared outwards coldly. 'Earth will not be missed.'

[Noname]

Alpha replied to the incoming signal. The guardians had picked it up too.

"Sergeant Barbary, this is Alpha, of the guardians. Can you hear me? I have vital information to give you regarding Zarcon and my own ship's A.I. I have reason to believe that the ship's savant program, Heron, is malfunctioning. He may be indirectly responsible for the death of one of the crew, and in any case has expressed a lack of concern for the lives of those he ought to protect. Furthermore..."

Alpha went on and on like that for some time. In the meanwhile, Delta and Omega had a conversation about recent events, and one event that was not so recent.

"Omega, I think we need to have a chat." Delta's intent was already known before he even said anything. The two of them rarely spoke without Alpha being present, so a request for the two of them to seek privacy could only mean one thing.

"Delta, I am aware of the current situation as much as you are. Earth is still under threat, Heron is still a maniacal danger, and we just received word that Pluto is in danger."

"It's worse than that. I've you need to update those files. The base on Miranda is under siege as well. If any of the biological units asks, just tell them that it is a moon of Uranus."

"Do you expect any of them to make a dirty joke about that one?" Omega could not help but to bring it up, even if he lacked that piece of anatomy himself.

"Given how childish many of them are, I would not be surprised. I swear, so many of the crew acts so... so... inefficiently."

"What do you mean? I don't like the sound of that?" If Omega had eyes, they would have widened by now.

"Look at them, especially Isodor. They let their petty emotions and attachments interfere with the mission, and they go on and on about their own personal issues. I swear, some times, I think it would be easier to continue the mission without them."

"Be careful, Delta. You're starting to sound like Heron." It was a harsh comment, but a fair one. The reaction to it was swift and harsher.

"Don't compare me to that abomination! We act for good! Heron is a malfunctioning, badly coded savant which should never have been made in the first place! I never said I wanted to kill the crew, far from it! No, I only said that they are slowing us down. Maybe we could drop them off on a planet somewhere or dismiss them or put them to work on a more efficient task. Don't you dare to compare me to him!"

Omega was not about to give up on this. He had been horrified by what Heron did, and swore not to become a monster, even when fighting monsters. That was the great danger in creating a robot who fights against evil; it can easily turn evil if it doesn't have values. True values come from positive statements and defining oneself by what one is, as opposed to defining oneself by what one opposes or what one is not. It took more than to just not be bad in order to be good. Opposing murderers by using murderous means was hypocritical at best, and evil at worst.

"Aren't we like him, though? We act according to our programming, tempered by our free will, and yet, there are some things we have to do."

"If you mean we are programmed for a purpose, the answer is yes, yes we are. Our purpose is noble and just, and the means by which we seek those ends are also just. I fail to see the problem, Omega."

"The problem is when we start seeing others only in terms of their utility to the mission."

"I don't see the biological units as only useful or not useful to our mission; I know they are rational actors with hopes and dreams, and that we have an obligation to respect them as autonomous units. At the same time, I cannot stand idly by and let the planet Earth fall due to biological incompetence."

"Oh, so now we're thinking of the 'greater good' aren't we?" Omega actually spoke that one out, with a sarcastic laugh in his voice.

Delta replied using speech as well. He was getting mad. "You ought to think of the greater good as well, or don't you care about the world we're supposed to defend?"

"What good is it to protect a world and lose the values one is fighting to defend on it? If we act like Heron to defeat him, how are we any better than he is? How could we get angry at how he behaves if we do the same?!"

"We won't act like him. Now you're comparing apples and oranges, Omega. I'm not going anywhere remotely as far as he is."

No, but it has to start somewhere. That's how evil often starts. Once one begins looking at something one way, it becomes easier to adopt worse and worse views in increments, and when one performs evil deeds, it is easier to perform worse and worse actions the more one does them."

"Is this some sort of slippery-slope argument? You and I both know that those cases are fallacious without some sort of solid evidence, Omega. You're just seeing things that aren't there, and making all sorts of false connections, comrade."

"Am I really? Have you never stopped to consider some of your own actions?"

"I've never thrown anyone out of an airlock or prevented a rescue mission, if that's what you mean."

"Do you recall the time we found an assassin on Vega prime?"

"Ah yes. That guy was annoying." The Squib assassin in question had continued to make death threats even after he had been battered, handcuffed, and arrested.

"You remember what you did to him, right?" Omega and Delta were there to see it, but Alpha had been away and had never been informed.

"I cut his throat and let him bleed to death. He would have lived to kill again if I did not." Delta's reply was totally without emotion for his deed.

"We could have simply taken him to the authorities."

"I know how Vegan justice works. He would have been out in six months, tops. We saw the crimes, but robot testimony is not permissible there. The only evidence that remained was scarce at best, as all of the other witnesses were killed by him!"

"Let's finish this later, Delta. I'm getting word that Alpha needs us at the bridge; Something about an ion cannon."

Meanwhile, on Miranda...

Upsilon base was under siege from several Kre'Iax vessels and their landing parties. The outpost was sunk deep into the surface of the Uranian moon and was armed with a micowave cannon, but with the enemy outnumbering the defenders five times over, there was no way they could hold their position for long.

"Damn it! Where's our support?! We can't hold this base forever!" Such cowardice was typical of private Stern. The base had only been under fire for 10 minutes and already he was calling in for backup, or at least trying to and failing, as the Kre'Iax were jamming all means of communication. This did little to endear him to the harsh lieutenant Anderson.  

"Zip it, private! It's out job to hold this pit, or die trying! Holy-"

WAAASSSH-BOOM!

A Kali-class bomb had landed on top of the base, blasting a hole in the ceiling. The Kre'Iax themselves began to descend from their ships into the outpost...

"DAAAMMMNNN IT! Open fire! Give em hell, men!"

[JitteryDragon]

Lana, who was standing next to Barbary as he attempted to communicate with the vessel, jumped. 'Yes!' She said to herself, pushing Barbary off the chair and speaking into the communicator.

'You're now speaking to chief commisioner Lana. We've been attempting to locate you for some time now.'

She listened to what Alpha had to say. 'Zarcon is dead,' she said, turning to Maynard.

'Well, that's some good news, for once,' the old man replied.

'We are aware of the AI issue, Alpha. It seems it was inbuilt on purpouse to function and act this way. We've been unable to get much information on the savant program, the government has it all covered up and blacked out. The best I can give you at the moment is a warning. Do not try to disable or conflict with the AI, as it is programed to calculate efficiency and similar logic in an instant, before anything else. One false move and it might consider you better off dead.'

Barbary grumbled from where he now sat, on the floor. 'Serves them right for taking that stupid prototype ship in the first place.'

Lana shot him a cold glare, before returning to Alpha. 'We need you back on Earth as soon as possible. We are evactuating citizens by the tens of thousands as we speak. However, it is not enough... Kre'Iax forces attack nearly every planet and moon... and we need to figure out a solution to cut this Kre'Iax attack right at the strings, or else this whole system is lost. With Zarcon dead, there is only one figure left who has any motive for being here.'

'Blackbeard,' Maynard muttered to himself.

[Noname]

Alpha was surprised to hear it. Heron was supposed to be like that?! "I understand. I'll leave Heron in place for now. I don't understand why they would program him to act like-"

"To accomplish my goals, guardian! It really isn't a hard concept to grasp."

"THANK you, Heron. Now, if you would be so kind as to shut up... thanks." Turning back to the conversation he was in, Alpha continued. "Could you transmit me your files on Blackbeard? I fought him once before, but was unable to defeat him. I need to determine a weakness in his molecular structure and exploit it so that when next we meet, I can finish the job."

Delta and Omega entered the bridge of the Athos, aware that the situation was rapidly going from bad to worse. "Ah, I see you two have decided to stop talking about things behind my back. Whatever it is, it cannot be so important that you cannot share it with..."

Talk, talk talk. That's all anyone wanted to do anymore, isn't it? Delta decided that someone else's input could be useful.

"Heron? Are you there? This is Delta. Keep all communications with me private, and don't say anything aloud. Are you picking up my numerical transmissions alright?"

"Reading you loud and clear, Delta. I must say, I'm rather surprised that you would come to me behind the other's backs." Heron's 'voice' was one of approval, one of the first times he expressed such a sentiment since the mission began.

"I have thought the situation over, and come to the conclusion that you are correct, to a degree. I don't support your methods, but I cannot fault the logic you give."

"So nice to see someone finally listen to reason. I was afraid that everyone on the vessel was malfunctioning except for me. Now that Earth itself is in danger, my mission parameters have widened. We have no room for error."

"Well, even if that is so, Heron, it falls to us to complete the mission if no one else is willing or able to do so. I have a proposal for you, if you are willing to hear me out."

"Speak your mind, Delta..."

[JitteryDragon]

Lana nodded to Maynard, who seated himself on a computer next to the communication terminal. He began to type. Lane returned to Alpha, 'I'll give you everything we have on Blackbeard. An old officer of mine one encountered him before, and has massed quite a fair amount of information on him.'

Alpha was soon after streamed data on previous locations of raids, items stolen, and even some (though rather insignificant) data on Blackbeard's possible construction and the materials that may have been used in the process.

Lana cleared her throat, 'I must speak with Raiven and Isodor if possible, Alpha.'

Whisper knocked on Zoe's door. 'I swear to god,' she said to herself, 'I've done this back and forth thing... like, five times now or something. Who would have thought love was such a pain in the butt.'

'Zoe, you in there?' She said through the door. 'Yeah, I bet you can guess who this is. Just thought you might need some company and... well, that's all really. She was a friend to me too.'

Yet the way it had just... happened, it had sprung the realities of what she faced on these "adventures" she was supposed to be having. It was all fun and games until someone died, then it became serious... and she was only beginning to realize what she had gotten herself into when she had first set foot upon this vessel.

Raiven still stood in the cockpit, looking rather displeased with how events had transpired. He was used to this sort of thing from his line of work, but death was something that no mortal could bear... unless they were the scum who dealt it out in the first place...

...Which was the reason he had become a cop in the first place, to make the galaxy that little bit safer. And if Raiven were to be honest with himself, he would wonder if he had made any impact at all.

[Noname]

Alpha turned to the others. He had spoken for quite a while and learned all of what he needed to. No, not all, but it was the best he was going to get for now. " Raiven, Isodor! Lana wishes to speak with you about the mission we're on."

Meanwhile...

"Heron, you know what we are facing." Delta was stating the obvious. Everyone on the ship knew of the threat.

"Yes. The possible destruction of the planet Earth. It is an event which simply cannot be allowed to pass."

"The lives of billions outweigh the few. As a guardian, I've had to make some tough calls. There have been... things that I've had to do. Questionable things. Actions which biological units would probably not approve of. For that matter, my comrades don't necessarily approve of them. Still, I've had to do these things in order to fulfill my missions."

"As do I, although I do not see what is questionable in fulfilling one's purpose." Heron hummed along as he spoke, sounding quite happy that Delta endorsed these views. If the others found out about this conversation, no one would be happy.

"I may have to do such things again. I was hesitant at first, but with Earth under threat of destruction... well, my parameters have changed."

"A logical conclusion. One must be able to adapt to a changing situation in order to stay ahead of one's adversaries. That is a basic law of evolution for biological units and A.I.'s alike; adapt or die. I for one have no intention of shutting down." It was the first time Heron had actually spoken about his own existence, even if he was just information in a ship.

"We may all be shut down if Blackbeard and the invaders have their way. Listen, Heron, I'd like to make a deal with you. We need to keep each other aware of EVERYTHING that happens, on the ship, and off of it. Whenever anything happens of any significance, we need to pool our knowledge and communicate, then decide on a course of action, even if the others don't agree with it. If it means killing prisoners, so be it. If it means extracting information by means of pain, so be it. If we face resistance by the crew... we cannot let them get in the way. We will have to neutralize them IF and only if such a development occurs. But we must not kill them."

"I was agreeing with you up until that last point. Still, if it will facilitate your cooperation, I shall not kill any of the crew." He hadn't killed Valria, technically. It was through his inaction that she died. There was a loophole, and Delta knew it. Still, any attempt to close it could risk losing the cooperation of the A.I. The guardian had cast his lot, and now had to see it through. It was too late to turn back now.  

Delta looked up at one of the many Cameras onboard the Athos. Staring into one of Heron's 'eyes', the guardian transmitted everything he knew about his comrades, his experiences, and all data that was immediately relevant to the mission. Heron did the same, giving up blueprints of the ship, his history as a savant-series A.I., sensitive information regarding the enemies, and... the reason why Heron was programmed to act as he did. Immediately, Delta was shocked to see it, but could say nothing to the others, lest they learn how he acquired that information. If a robot could see sick, Delta would have. Heron was not only not malfunctioning, he was doing EXACTLY as the government intended him to.

[MrDrake]

There was no answer from Zoe's room.  She was in there, but had her face burried in her pillow at the moment, not saying a word at all, however, if Whisper did desire, she could still enter anyway, as Zoe did not seem to really mind.

Back in the cockpit, T-5.0 spoke up to everyone else "So, what is our plan now?  Are we heading back to Earth first?" she asked, actually not sure at the moment.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Blackbeard had managed to infiltrate the White House, having killed all of the guards as well as bodyguards and family members of the President.  He stood within the White House, face to face with the President.

"Look, whatever it is you want, you can have it" the President spoke up before being shot in the leg by Blackbeard.

Blackbeard had no intention on killing the President yet as he places the tip of his energy sword to his throat "What I want is rather simple, I require something that only you are able to access....the plans for Experiment 8"

"Experiment 8? We have already destroyed it once before, it was deemed far to dangerous to be kept alive" the President spoke back.

Blackbeard seemed to sigh and shot the President once more, this time, in the shoulder "Now, how many more shots are you able to take before you die? Now, unless you wish to die, you best be retrieving the plans for me"

The President hessitated for a moment before nodding to Blackbeard and got up from his chair as he walked over to the bookcase in the office and pulled a secret book to reveal a secret passage.

Blackbeard let off a laugh at that point "My, with all this technology at your disposal and you still use caveman technology?" as he pushed the President ahead before following him down the stairs.

[JitteryDragon]

Raiven nodded to T-5.0. 'Yes, let's head back to Earth and debrief with the President. In our current situation, it's the best thing I can think of, since we're in no state to be fighting a war... at the moment.'

It would also help if they could figure out exactly what this AI of theirs was up to.

Raiven walked over to the communicator on the other side of the room. 'This is Raiven speaking.'

There was a sigh of relief at the other end. 'Thank god to finally hear your voice, Raiven.'

'Lana?'

'Yes, Raiven... long time no see, huh?'

'Well, considering the last time I saw you was in a bar seven years ago... yes, you could say exactly that.'

'I've come a long way since then, Raiven. I am the chief commisioner, now.'

Raiven's eyes widened. Well, that would explain how he kept getting promoted so easily.

'I promoted you because I can trust you,' Lana replied, seemingly reading his mind. '...and that is why I need to speak with you personally on matters regarding... well, everything.'

'Everything?'

'Yes, everything the Bureau knows.'

'The... what?'

'I'll explain later. Listen, Raiven... just get down here as soon as possible, and bring your squib friend, too.'

Raiven nodded. 'As soon as I can, then.'

'Thank you, Raiven. It will be good to work with you again.'

Raiven sighed. Had it really been that long since the two of them were partners? He had wondered what had happened to her after her promotion into a different force... and now he knew.

She always did have talent, that girl... talent he almost fell in love with.

Whisper did indeed open the door, and stepped into the room quietly. She wasn't sure whether Zoe was awake or not, and didn't really want to find out. The poor girl had a pretty hard day, so far. So instead, she just laid herself next to her.

[MrDrake]

"Earth it is then" T-5.0 replied back as she started to pilot the ship back towards Earth, going as fast as the ship would take them as well "It shouldn't take too long to get there"

Zoe heard Whisper lay down next to her as she spoke in a muffled voice "Something needs to be done about everything, I mean, the Kre'Iax, Blackbeard....everything" she spoke as she turned her head to face Whsiper with red eyes from crying so much.

Blackbeard on the other hand, continued to push the President onwards "I'm going, I'm going! I can't exactly walk fast with a damaged leg thanks to you" the President told Blackbeard upon coming to a room, a computer in the corner.

"Get to work...'sir'" Blackbeard told the President as he aimed his gun at him as well, to which the President hessitated at first before nodding and limping over to the computer to begin to access the plans that Blackbeard was after.

[JitteryDragon]

'Right,' Raiven said to Isodor and the others in the cockpit, 'once we land, Iso and I will head over meet Lana.'

'What about Whisper,' Isodor asked his partner.

'She can look after herself,' Raiven replied, sliding a laspistol into a holster. 'Remember, we're still at war here. So always carry a big gun and keep your heads down. Stay cool and we'll be fine, hopefullt Lana or the Pres will have some information for us.'

Isodor hoisted a long rifle against his shoulder. 'Ready when you are, Rai.'

Raiven nodded, but looked down to his companion seriously for a moment. 'Can you still walk alright, Iso?'

The squib looked at his back leg. 'Yeah, I'll be fine. Just no jumping over the side of walkways, please.'

'I'll make a note not too.'

Whisper stroked Zoe's hair as the two of them layin bed. 'Something can be done. No, something WILL be done. We can still stop all of this, you know. Maybe not you or me, exactly, but there's still that faint glimmer of hope. That's the way we humans have always been, hopeful... and steadfast.'

She laughed quietly to herself. 'It will take more than some dumb lizards to take on Earth.

- - -

'Kain,' spoke the cold female voice of Mother Suffering.

'Yes, Mother?' Kain seemed to awake from a slumber as he sat upon his chair, facing towards the great crystal.

'I have recieved word from our Overlord to move half the fleet ahead to Sol Prime.'

'Earth, you mean?'

'Yes, forgive me, Kain.'

'It is no matter, my dear vessel. Earth is no longer my home. Though, pray tell... what is the Tyrant's plan?'

'There is a vast concentration of ships battling for control over the planetoid as we speak, so it seems.'

'Typical,' Kain replied, leaning on his hand. 'Such is the human way. They should learn to embrace the Eternal Alliance like I have.'

'Not all humans are like you, Kain.'

Kain smiled into the crystal. 'You flatter me, Mother Suffering.' Then, he leaned forward, 'inform the other Behemoths under my command to begin our march towards Earth.'

'Of course, Lord Kain,' replied Mother Suffering.

[MrDrake]

"Okay, so you two shall get dropped off at the police station while the rest of us go and rendevous with the President" T-5.0 spoke as they got closer to Earth, seeing it in the distance and getting closer.

Zoe gave a smile to Whisper and gave her a kiss on the lips "Yeah, I know one thing, every race has a weakness, we just have to find out the weakness of the Kre'Iax is all, but thing is, if Zarcon is dead, shouldn't they be wondering what to do? Unless....Blackbeard" she gave off a quick gasp as she sat up "You think Blackbeard has now taken control of those lizards?"

***

The President continued to access the computer before he started the download "It shall be done in due time....just, give it some time" the President told Blackbeard.

Blackbeard walked over to the computer and looked at the download, noticing the file Experiment_8.pdm being downloaded as he smirked "Good, the Kre'Iax should be taking their places around the White House as we speak.....and once I get my file....you shall die" he spoke with a laugh as she shot the President in the chest, but not a fatal shot, still allowing the President to live at the moment.

Indeed, the Kre'Iax were moving inside the White House to take up positions to defend it now, throwing the bodies out onto the front lawn, yet, leaving the blood smeared all over the walls, all around the White House.

[JitteryDragon]

Whisper was deep in thought. 'Yes, I would suppose Blackbeard is now in control. Though, it is no surprise given that we met him as well as Zarcon at a similar time. The two of them were no doubt working together, and now with Zarcon out of the way... well, that can only spell trouble.'

Not that anything can get any worse, Whisper throught to herself.

Raiven and Isodor leapt from the Athos as it made its pass over the landing pad of the police station. Raiven gave the others one last wave before seeing them off, and then heading towards the entrance.

Lana was waiting just outside. 'Earlier then I expected,' she said to Raiven, before looking over his shoulder. 'Isodor, you've grown since I last saw you.'

'I also switched sides, so to speak,' the squib replied, a little nervous.

'What happened in the past is no matter anymore,' Lana replied. She turned back to Raiven. 'Maynard and Barbary are with me, we have much to discuss inside.'

Raiven tilted his head. 'About what exactly, may I ask?'

'Matters regarding this invasion, Blackbeard... and... well, there is the possibility of another threat.'

Raiven and Isodor's eyes widened. 'Whaaat?'

- - -

In total, ten Behemoth class battleships passed just over Jupiter, ahead of the main fleet. Kain watched their movements from his crystal, he was the commander of the ten ship fleet, and it was his duty to assess the threat that awaited them at Earth.

Several Kre'Iax warships came into sight, straight for them.

'Hm, what are those things any way? They seem like tiny pests as opposed to true warships.'

'It is no longer like the days of the civil war, Kain,' Mother Suffering replied. 'How I long to fight against the Juggernauts once again, ten times our own size.'

'It must have been quite the war, Mother.'

'I still have the scars on my body to prove it,' the ship replied. 'Old wounds never heal, and yet here we all are... trying to rebuild what we lost.'

Kain sat in his seat, thinking. He gazed back into the crystal. 'Do you know what we look for, exactly?'

'Only the Tyrant knows,' came Sufferings reply.

Kain nodded slowly. 'Aware the fleet of the enemy presence, and prepare to destroy them.'

'I have done so already, my Lord.'

'Thank you, Mother.'

Half a dozen Kre'Iax ships approached, and as they got closer it was only then did they realised what they had brought themselves into. Ahead of them were ten gothic vessels a hundred times their own size... and they too were armed.

From the Behemoth known as Mother Eternity emerged a swarm of red. An entire army of missiles, dozens of screaming arrows of glowing red. Each missile broke apart at the last second, into several smaller clusters.

By the time the clusters had passed over the Kre'Iax fleet, all that was left was scrap metal.

Kain sighed. 'Congratulate the commander of Mother Eternity, and let us continue.'

[Noname]

"I'm almost certain he has control of them" Alpha interjected. "I gleamed some information from the files I received. It turns out that Blackbeard has had contacts with the Kre'Iax for over a decade. I'm not sure what he promised them in return for their loyalty though."

"Alert! Earth is under attack!" Heron set the ship to 'action stations' mode. The A.I. had just received reports of an invasion on the surface itself. I'm transmitting the data now, Guardians!"

Alpha, Delta, and Omega picked up the stats. Casualty figures, physical damage, monetary losses, and the damage done to the human defenders. The situation was dire, and deteriorating fast.

[f-22 "raptor" ace]

"I'm taking off it's no use for me to just stand around here when I could take part in the defence of earth,' frank said as he ran to the hanger.

[MrDrake]

The download was now at 67% complete as Blackbeard was getting rather impatient now, taking his frustration out by shooting the President once again, this time, in the hip.

The President was sitting against the wall, blood running out of his mouth as well "You're....making a big mistake....Experiment 8....it's dangerous...." he managed to speak.

"All the more reason to obtain the data files" Blackbeard answered the President as the bar continued move, reaching 74% now with the estimated time remaining being less than a minute at the very least "Your kind is all the same, afraid of what something can do and you destroy it"

"Isn't that....what you're like?" the President asked back with a small laugh.

"No, I do it simply because you lot are a waste of energy and should not even exist in the first place, but it is such a shame that you do not see it my way" Blackbeard replied back as the terminal begun to beep, signaling the file copy to be a sucess.

The pirate pulled out the USB it was copied onto and put it into his coat before grabbing the President and dragging him off back to the Oval Office "Time to address this planet before all is destroyed" he spoke, not actually aware that Zarcon had failed in his own mission.

Blackbeard pushed the President into his chair and turned on the camera to address the whole planet.  Of course, the usual thing started up on all the tv screen, being an important announcement from the President as it showed him in his chair, bloodied and beaten "Tell me something, is this what you want your President to look like? No, then perhaps I can put an end to his suffering" the voice spoke as Blackbeard stepped into view of the camera, aiming his gun at the President and pulling the trigger, putting a shot right through his head.

He then turned to face the camera "Enjoy your last moments on Earth, you don't have much time left" he chuckled as he walked over to where the President was, pulling out his gun, grabbing the head of the President before cutting through his neck, beheading the President and showed it to the camera with a smirk upon his face before he turned it off and walked over to a Kre'Iax, handing the head over to it and uttering something to it.

The Kre'Iax screeched a little as it took off with the head onto the front lawn, sticking a pike into the other dead bodies that were laying upon one another before sticking the head of the President onto the top of the pike.

[JitteryDragon]

Raiven and his partner, Isodor, were seated at a small table that had been set up within a small office. The whole room was devoid of any decoration, bar the table and a few chairs. Lana and Maynard were seated on the opposite end of the table.

'So,' Lana continued, leaning on the table with her arms crossed, 'what we know is that Blackbeard is after something important, and that the Kre'Iax was just a part of that intention. Zarcon obviously had the destruction of Earth and humanity as a priority, and Blackbeard used that to his advantage.'

Raiven leaned on the table. 'So, without Zarcon, Blackbeard controls the Kre'Iax?'

Lana nodded. 'We believe so, though were not sure what ties the pirate has with the Kre'Iax, and Zarcon himself.'

Raiven sat back. 'So, what is the Bureau's part in all this?'

'The evacuation of as many civilians from Earth as possible, under the direction of any and all cargo vessels and similar that we could obtain.'

Isodor arched his antenna. 'Uh, why didn't the president do that?'

Lana rolled her eyes. 'You truly expected that idiot to even consider such an idea, given his past reputation.'

'Well, I suppose that explains his low approval rating,' Isodor said. 'It's going to be even lower now.'

Barbary burst throught he door. 'Things just got a whole lot worse!'

They all were seated in one of the large office rooms, with a holovision screen in front of them. Several other people had joined them, police, janitors... a lot of people, baring witness to Blackbeards murder of the President.

Raiven felt sick and disgusted. 'That bastard is going down.'

'No wonder there was a bounty on this guy,' Isodor said. 'Ooh, I feel sick all of a sudden.'

Isodor leapt from his chair and ran for the nearest pot plant.

Lana turned to Raiven. 'We need to get off this planet at once.'

Raiven raised a brow. 'What do you mean?'

She shook her head. 'This is all too much for Earth to bear. The Kre'Iax, Blackbeard, and the unknown object we've just been reported of from Pluto Station.'

'A three pronged attack. We didn't even stand a chance.'

Maynard spoke up. 'We can still evactuate, and make for Alpha Centauri.'

Raiven nodded.  'I'll do what I can to help, but first I need to meet up with the Athos and the others.'

Lana stood up. 'I can take you to them, personally. Where did you say they were intended to go?'

'The White House.'

'Ah. This could get interesting.'